For starters, I haven't read everything here and most replies are two years old by now. I'll just see where I can catch up or feel I can reply to as well.

Last night I began watching the new show. I've seen two episodes so far and in all I can say I'm far from disappointed.

Yes, it is fast-paced, it's more violent and there's more adult stuff in the first episode then in the entire run of the original. But this is not bad at all. At least not for a pilot episode.

There was not much I didn't like. I agree with most here on the MacGyverisms: it's too fast, you hardly get time to see what he uses. In 10 seconds or less he makes something out of nothing, while in the original he took his time to look for the things he needed, devise a plan and have it worked out. To me a fast escape in the original series was the pump house in Trail of Tears. Now he makes a parachute in 10 seconds to escape a moving vehicle that explodes. And actually that comes to it with the bad stuff.

When it comes to the characters...

I have no problem with that either. It's a reboot not a sequel and they still have to find their footing. That's why first episodes are always a little difficult. But the show really started with a bang. Then again most shows that starts with a bang run out of steam near the end.

I can see Lucas Till becoming a better MacGyver as the series progresses. George Eads seems to have immediately found his Jack Dalton from the get-go. Patricia Thornton was alright, maybe a little uptight since she apparently has to keep MacGyver and Jack in line. I can dig that but she's nowhere near Pete and really seems to dislike Jack. Pete wasn't so fond of Jack either but I think they eventually got along.

Now Nikki... there was something I really liked to see. A beautiful appearance and apparently setting a season-length storyline in motion. Ever since I persuaded myself that MacGyver and Nikki belonged together, I knew she was his girl. Glad to see that the reboot took on that angle. This is such a missed opportunity in the original. Those who were appalled by the brief shot of MacGyver and Nikki having sex or the handcuffs... it's what people in love do, you know, and we may have no clue how kinky the original Mac was. Don't forget in Deadly Dreams Eric Cross stood in a sex shop looking for Kandi and lured Murphy to a warehouse claiming Kandi was shooting a porn movie. Even if those scenes didn't involve MacGyver, it has been acknowledged and the episode was written by the producer himself. But that aside I'm just saying they appeared to have a very active love life.

Bozer... obvious comic relief but for some reason I think they should've named him Billy Colton.

Riley: no current opinion about her. She's like a female Dexter.

In all I think they made more than a decent start. There was plenty of nods to the original, like the voice-overs, and I have seen a mix of Fire and Ice, The Human Factor and The Wasteland. That they haven't exactly fleshed out MacGyver yet is normal if they start all over again. So MacGyver had a beer at the end of this episode, big deal. The original MacGyver had a sip of wine in The Heist when he was trying to open the vault. There's no need to get preachy about it. Yes, he called Vinnie Jones an sob. Are we going to cry about that? No, I don't think so. The original Mac said 'damn' more than once. I've read here somewhere that Lenkov is watering down the shows by rebooting it. To me he seems to be spicing things up. But, that won't mean he can deliver a better show then the original but what I've seen so far is a damn good one. The more things people hate or get panned, it's usually a lot better than people think. And just like the original probably some things will evolve over the course of the show. Just to name something, I would change his introduction to the original. I would want to hear him say: 'Name's MacGyver,' instead of him introducing himself as: 'I am Angus MacGyver.'

The one thing that cracks me up is when they call him: "Mr. MacGyver." Then I go: 'Nope, wrong guy.' But it's just so funny to hear them say it. What's next? "Goodbye, MacGyver"?

Lastly I want to say something about the episode titles. As I've read here a lot of people don't get the relevance of the episode titles since mostly in the first season the episodes are named to the tools of the SAK. The Rising does sound kinda cool to me and I get the relevance at the end of the episode. While DXS is shutdown they rise again as Phoenix Foundation. This episode however could've also been called: Virus. That's maybe how I would've called it. And maybe I should see if I can rename all the episodes so far.

So again, in all, I liked the first episode very much and I think I'm probably able to like the reboot as well. As much as the original, I don't know yet. My heart is with the original and whenever I write fanfics, I will always keep the original actors in mind and stick to the original as much as possible as I always did.

DashboardOnFire

Posted on 5 September 2018 - 09:03 AM

Rhett Allain - Technical Consultant for the Reboot - started blogging about the "MacHacks" for every episode.

He also adds videos and explanations in later posts, and how plausible it is to work (since he's a physicist and teaching at University), so this is pretty cool.

denizen

Posted on 20 March 2018 - 03:50 AM

Well there you have it. There is a predictable formula Lenkov uses. He does it in all his produced shows and i can certainly guarantee that Magnum will follow in these footsteps.

Using the old, this is how the life and times are nowadays routine. I disagree. If Bond can evolve but still remain in his element 5 decades after his inception, I'm pretty certain MacGyver & Magnum can too.

Connelly

Posted on 20 March 2018 - 02:49 AM

Someone on the magnum-mania forum posted an article from the Guardian newspaper here in the UK, about the Magnum reboot - I copied and pasted this paragraph because I think it's absolutely spot on (apart from Lenkov's first name being wrong!):

Worse, the new Magnum will be produced by Paul Lenkov, who has made a cottage industry of watering down shows you used to love. Lenkov was also the mastermind behind the Hawaii Five-O and MacGyver reboots, which should be enough to give you pause. His speciality seems to be taking good, sturdy, landmark shows – shows which were undeniably key parts of the cultural landscape first time around – and turning them into wallpaper. His versions are bright and lively and absolutely hollow, full of grinning haircuts who operate without any meaningful motivation. They’re empty calories. They’re things designed to make noise in the background while you look up recipes on your phone. I’ve tried watching Lenkov’s Hawaii Five-O. I really have, multiple times, but it’s impossible. There’s no weight to it. It’s like watching mist.

denizen

Posted on 19 March 2018 - 08:26 PM

I feel that if a show is different and exciting, it will find its own way to pull you in. Simply holding onto the character as a form of a leash is just not good enough. Lenkov made his own show.Whether we liked it or not was irrelevant to him.

When you see it, you will understand. This is H50 / NCIS. There is nothing new here.

When the original show was released, NOTHING compared to it. I don't feel i need to mindset myself to watch it. As an audience, i expect to be entertained, not spoon fed. And this incarnation is filled with spoon feeding what i already had this morning.

MacGyverGod

Posted on 19 March 2018 - 02:12 PM

They're always feeding us the same thing. Everything bigger, faster and more spectacular with similar characters. It's like everyone can take out whole armies by themselves now. Rambo did that in the 80's when it was new, Xena did that in the 90's and pretty much everyone else after the year 2000. Of course nothing wrong with that.

But recentely I was thinking what if they now made a show like in the 80's and 90's, both an action/adventure and a family related sitcom with occasional drama and every week is a complete new episode with every now and then a two-parter.

Jedi, your friends really don't know what they're missing here. Try On A Wing and a Prayer or Humanity. Those would be two of my recommendations.

Jediferret

Posted on 19 March 2018 - 10:05 AM

That's one way of looking at it.

I'm just not a fan of the team oriented format, and I'm also not that big of a fan of reboots. If it wasn't for the original, I wouldn't give the Reboot the time of day simply because it's not my kind of show.

I can remain objective... and I've been more than fair. Heck, I've even recommended it to my friends who wouldn't touch the original with a 10-foot pole. Interestingly, they have no interest in the reboot either. lol

I just feel that the reboot isn't anything new... it just kinda comes off as a typical and boring.

It's not a bad show though... it's just not my kind of show.

MacGyverGod

Posted on 19 March 2018 - 08:17 AM

Exactly and I think this is why most of us get disappointed. We're still expecting more of the same thing which it no longer is. I think this is one of the reasons why I wasn't that impressed with Lethal Weapon. Riggs with a mustache? A different wife with a different fate. Murtaugh as a heart patient? Songs during action sequences, but after like six episodes, it started to get better, like it found it's footing so yes I am curious to that second season while they are of course no match compared to Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.

Guess I'll find out whether the new MacGyver is dumbed down with no thinking requiered. The original show was not exactly meant for the intelligent either. Can't think of one episode I couldn't follow as kid and I've been watching for 25 years. As a 6-7 year old of course I didn't understand a word he said nor what he was doing. Maybe Ugly Duckling. It was just cool when the old SAK came out, cutting things, connecting things and boom you can blow out a lock. To be honest, I think the original show was at least in some way educational without getting too 'schooly' or making you say: 'Should've paid attention in class'. That's what I like so much about the show. Everyone can understand it.

MacGyverOnline

Posted on 19 March 2018 - 12:15 AM

QUOTE (denizen @ 19 March 2018 - 05:26 PM)

I actually did. Then with the opinions shared by others regarding how season 2 was going to improve, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. But it ultimately became more foreign than the first season and so i just stopped altogether.

I guess its just not that feeling of what i used to get from seeing the original.

The trick is not to expect it to feel or be the same.

It's a different show in a different era about the same character and that's really how it has to be watched.

Latest episodes are certainly entertaining, but it's still very dumbed down "no thinking required" entertainment.

denizen

Posted on 18 March 2018 - 09:26 PM

I actually did. Then with the opinions shared by others regarding how season 2 was going to improve, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. But it ultimately became more foreign than the first season and so i just stopped altogether.

I guess its just not that feeling of what i used to get from seeing the original.